DIY Magnetic Silly Putty Is Black Magic

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DIY Magnetic Silly Putty Is Black Magic

Instructables user mikeasaurus has posted a fun and easy guide that describes how to make your own magnetic Silly Putty. Basically, you just take some standard Silly Putty (which is a lot of fun by itself) and blend in some black iron oxide. As far as experiments go, this is simple and safe, and the results look like something out of World of Goo (by the way, World of Goo is an amazing game, and you're really missing out on something great if you haven't played it yet).

I didn't think the magnetic putty would be all that interesting until I saw the accompanying video. Take a look, and I think you'll find the results attractive, too:

Obviously the video uses a little time-lapse acceleration to speed up the flow of the putty, but that doesn't detract from the effect. I wonder if there is some way to soften the putty to allow it to flow a little faster?

Finally, as the Instructable cautions, be careful of the iron dust when you are mixing up the putty, and be aware that the putty can stain fabrics and paper. Other than that, have fun with your magnetic non-Newtonian viscoelastic polymer...